Slashdot Mirror
Threshold for Piracy?
bigwayne writes "A continuing source of internal discussion, among the organizers of Zion LAN, is the topic of how strict we are to be concerning software piracy. It just seems common sense that a LAN party would be a perfect place to share music, software, movies, and do other reprehensible acts. However there isn't much, outside discouraging the act itself, that we can do to actually stop these things. One strong argument is that the legitimately obtained software we provide shares the same distribution method that the illegally obtained software does, and I wonder if this creates a double-standard far outside of any legal situation it creates. Another part of this also concerns our particular situation (our LAN is being hosted by a non-profit charitable organization), in that we'd be ethically remiss if we sat idly by and let such things happen, unmitigated. So, where do we stop passively caring about piracy, and when do we start cracking down? Are the circumstances of a LAN party such that trying to stop it is overambitious?"
Inform all participants in advance of your decision, and set a zero tolerance policy.
Request that anyone who does not wish to adhere to "no piracy" rules to not attend the event.
If they insist on attending and engaging in copyright infringement, round them up and politely escort them off the premises.
Just make it a policy that copyright infringment at the event is unaceptable and if your caught you will be expelled from the event. . .
Other than that , dont treat people like criminals
They may do it , they may not , but if you start putting in checks your going to make it a rather unplesant experiance for people
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
Why does everything computer related now have to be so concerned with 'piracy'? Why is it suddenly everyone's job to patrol everything you do to make sure you haven't commited the heinous crime of copying a cd? It's a sad state for the world to be in.
When you buy a game, you could get an extra "LAN party" CD that can be passed around and copied however you want. It could install game clients that will function as long as one licensed installation is on the network. I'm sure the publisher would rather be selling a unique copy of the game to each player, but let's look at the reality of the situation:
- You go to the party and somebody says "Hey let's play Super Machoman Elite Team Force 3000!"
- You don't necessarily want to buy this game, but you need to install something to play with your buddies.
- Somebody hands you a disc and you install it. You maybe tell yourself that you'll uninstall it or buy the game later.
- But do you?
The point of having a "LAN party" installer is not to make extra copy protection, which can obviously be circumvented. Just make it easier to make temporary installations that work only at the party. It will be more convenient for people to avoid pirating games that way. And as the licensed owner of game you can pass around a disc without fear of it getting pirated.You need to balance common sense with your policies.
For example, if there is rampant out in the open piracy, it will reflect poorly on your event and could even possibly open you up to some claims of liability.
At the same time, you're not the BSA or SPA either, it's not your job or responsibility to make sure that no one has any pirated software on their machine.
Basically, make it known that piracy is not allowed. Anyone caught engaging in the act of software piracy will be asked to leave. And then stick to it.
If someone's screaming "Hey I got Episode III, who wants to grab it?" you give him the boot.
If someone quietly lets a friend grab his copy of Episode III without bringing it to anyone else's attention, there's nothing you can do about it.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Ask a lawyer. Preferably one that knows something about copyright law.
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
If the BSA or RIAA or MPAA comes a knockin', send them packing.
If the police decide to make themselves known, tell them that you're not responsible (as posted) and that copyright infringement is a civil (not criminal) matter.
You're not these people's parents, IANAL but you don't have squat to worry about.
If anyone complains, escort them off the premises. Worry more about your building's insurance policy than about being the thought police.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
It's piracy, its illegal, its going on during your watch. Stop it.
How? And why? When you're hanging out with your friends, do you body slam them if they try to exchange copyrighted material? Do you call the RIAA, MPAA, or BSA and report it? What do you do to stop copyright infringement on your watch? All I see is a holier-than-thou attitude with no suggestions (practical or impractical) to back it up.
"The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
did you read the post? i dont recall it saying anything about policing, and brings up pretty much the same questions you ask (albeit without the sarcasm and lame attempts at humor).
As for the latter part, bittorrent wasnt created strictly for the purpose of copyright infringement either. For some reason that argument, while it has held so far, has created a huge commotion to say the least.
Why not just block SMB traffic? Some people have shares set up for a reason and it sucks to reconfigure them just for a LAN party.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.